Fountain attachment for pens.



F. L. FITHIAN.

FOUNTAIN ATTACHMENT FOB PENS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 5.1915.

Patented July 25, 1916.

Ma 90. IZYENTOR ATTORNEY FRANK L. FITI-IIAN, OF HAIDIDONFIELD, NEW JERSEY.

FOUNTAIN ATTACHMENT FOR PENS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 25, 1916.

Application filed October 5, 1915. Serial No. 54,146.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK L. F ITHIAN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of l-laddonfield, county of Camden, and State of New Jersey, have invented an Improvement in Fountain Attachments for Pens, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to fountain attachments for pens and has for an object to provide a simple and effective device which is adapted to be removably attached to an ordinary writing pen for the purpose of collecting and holding a quantity of reserve ink, whereby the pen in use is automatically supplied with ink for a considerable period and in a uniform manner without redipping in the ink well.

It has for a further object to provide a fountain attachment formed of spring metal, so arranged and constructed as to provide the device with means for removably clamping the attachment to the body portion of a pen, and also having means for exerting a clamping action upon the tapering side edges of the pen whereby the device, while readily removable, is held in its operative position in use as a substantially permanent part of the pen.

A further object is to provide an attachment for pens wherein the construction is such as to form a clamping means acting laterally against the side edges of the pen and between which a tongue of spring material is located having the double function of forming a holding means for the ink and also guiding and delivering the ink to the pen point.

With the above and other objects in view, the nature of which will be more fully understood from the description hereinafter, the invention consists in the novel construction of fountain attachments for pens as hereinafter more fully described and defined in the claims.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 represents a longitudinal section of a pen showing the fountain attachment of my invention mounted thereon; Fig. 2 represents a bottom plan of the same; Fig. 3 represents a top plan thereof; Fig. 4 represents a section on line 44 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 represents a bottom plan of a pen showing a modified form of the attachment; Fig 6 represents a bottom plan of the pen showing another embodiment of the fountain attachment; Fig. 7 represents a longitudinal section of the device shown in Fig. 6; and Fig. 8 represents a bottom plan of a pen showing another modification of the fountain attachment. The fountain attachment of the present invention in its preferred form consists of a single piece of wire bent into suitable form so that it may be readily placed and held by its own resiliency in operative position upon a pen to form a retaining means for the ink so that the pen may be used for a considerable amount of writing without redipping into the ink well. n

1 designates a pen, which is of ordinary form, and to which the fountain attachment, designated generally by the reference numeral 2, is removably secured. The wire forming this attachment has its two terminals 3 bent rearwardly above the body portion of the device in such a manner that when placed upon the pen the said terminals rest substantially longitudinally upon the top or upper surface of the pen, as will be seen in Fig. 3.

By reference to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be noted that the wire from each of the terminals 3 extends downwardly around the edges of the pen and below the bottom or concave portion thereof, thence rearwardly and longitudinally to substantially parallel the said terminals 3. At suitable points within the body of the pen these rearwardly extending portions are reversely bent to form fingers at 4, the inner end portions of which are bent upwardly toward the lower surface of the pen, as shown at 5; and when the attachment is removed from the pen, these end portions 5 of the fingers are substantiallv in contact with the terminals 3 owing to their resiliency or spring action. In view of the fact that the wire is preferably of spring mater1al, this constructlon affords a meansv of retaining the attachment in place upon the pen, since the insertion of the pen between the terminals 3 and ends 5 forces the said parts to separate and each, therefore grips the pen body with an effective clamping action, The continuation of the wire forming the fingers t provides a centrall disposed loop or tongue 6 located between the opposite sides of the fingers and preferably being upwardly bent as shown at 7 toward the lower surface of the pen in order to terminate in close proximity thereto and properly cooperate with the parts 8 for the tapered construction, I have preferred to converge the side wires of the fingers as they approach the point end of the pen and provide an offset inwardly disposed curved jaw 8 at each edge of the pen, the normal tendency of which is to spring together when released from the pen. These jaws 8 are therefore forced apart slightly by the,

wedging action of the pen point when the device is slipped upon the pen, and thus form an auxiliary clamping means to prevent displacement of the device when in use.

By reference to Fig. 1 it will further be seen that the upwardly turned parts 5 and 7 form with the body of the pen a SllbSlJZlIl".

tially cup-shaped reservoir or receptacle which is adapted to retain a quantity of ink when the pen is dipped in the well and removed .in the usual manner. While this fountain receptacle is of substantially open construction to permit free flow of the liquid toward the pen point, the parts are, however,

arranged in such relatively close relationthat there is sufiicient capillary action as to prevent an excessive or flooding flow of the ink when the device is in use.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a modified form of the attachment wherein each terminal 3 passes from the upper surface of the pen, forming the offset curved jaws 8, to the lower surface where each part is wound into a substantially spiral form as shown at 10, the respective spirals being joined by an upwardly extending loop 11 designed to exert the required clamping action as previously described for the parts 5. p

In Fig. 6 another modification of the device is shown, wherein one of the end portions of the wire is provided with a spiral as shown at 12, while the opposite portion is relatively straight as shown at 13 and joins the spiral by the loop portion 14.

Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate another embodiment of the invention wherein the wire forming the attachment is provided with a single loop 15 lying within thelower concave portion of the pen and having its end inclined upwardly to provide a required clamping action with the upper terminals 3 of the device, the said loop 15 having mounted thereon a clip 16. which forms with the pen body a suitable receptacle for the ink. This clip is provided at one end with a forwardly projecting tonguel? suitably bent the device relative to the pen.

into close proximity with the surface of the pen for the purpose of guiding and delivering the ink toward the penv point, as will be the pen between the terminals 3 and the lower coacting parts, while the spring jaws passmg around the edge of the pen are ar ranged to exert a lateral gripping action to further assist in holding the device in operative position. It will be apparent that this lateral gripping action is capable of adjustment in that the wedge effect of the tapered edges of the pen serves to spread or open the jaws, thus varying the pressure of the jaws in accordance with the position of V The tongue member, which occupies a position substantially between the sides of the fingers, serves to feed the ink toward the point of the pen as well as retaining'a stored quantity of. the

ink for use according to requirements.

I have shown my improvements in the form preferred, and yet the shapes of the parts and bends may be modified without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Havlng now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a

wire of metal bent to form clamping members engaging respectively the upper and lower surface of a pen and providing laterally acting spring aws for engaging the side edges of the pen and also a tongue between the jaws substantially alined with the longitudinal axis of the pen for guiding ink toward the point of the pen.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a

fountain attachment for pens, comprising a 'wlre bent to form longitudinally disposed end portions lying along the upper surface ofa pen and longitudinally disposed fingers lying along the lower surface of the pen,

said fingers having upwardly disposed end.

portions adapted to clamp the pen against said upper members, the wire between the respective upper and lower portions being bent to form offset laterally disposed jaws adapted to clamp the side edges of the pen and said fingers providing a tongue adjacent to the jaws adapted to feed the ink between said jaws toward the point of said pen.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a

fountain attachment for pens comprising wire of spring material bent to form end portions adapted to seat longitudinally upon the upper surface of a pen, each end portion being bent laterally and downwardly beneath the body of the pen to provide lateral clamping jaws and extended rearwardly and longitudinally to form a pair of fingers, said fingers being bent upwardly to provide means to clamp said pen against the upper end portions and also being reversely bent to form a longitudinally disposed tongue extending toward the jaws for the purpose of feeding the ink toward the point of the p 4. As a new article of manufacture, a fountain attachment for pens comprising a wire of metal bent to form end portions adapted to seat longitudinally upon the upper surface of a pen, each end portion being bent laterally and downwardly beneath the body of the pen to provide jaws to laterally clamp the pen and extended rearwardly and longitudinally to form a pair of fingers, said fingers being respectively bent upwardly to clamp said pen against the upper end portions and also being reversely bent to form a longitudinally disposed tongue said tongue having its end upwardly bent toward the jaws whereby it may terminate in close proximity to the under surface of the pen, so that the ink is fed from said device toward the point of said pen.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a fountain attachment for pens comprising a wire of metal bent to form members adapted to seat upon the upper surface of a pen and members adapted to seat against the lower surface of said pen, said sets of members being arranged to clamp against the pen by spring action, the respective upper and lower members being connected by laterally disposed jaws adapted to engage the side edges of the pen, whereby said attachment is removably clamped to said pen.

6. As a new article of manufacture, a fountain attachment for pens comprising a wire of metal bent to form a set of members adapted to seat upon the upper surface of a pen and a set of members adapted to seat against the lower surface of said pen, said sets of members being arranged to clamp against the pen by spring action, the respective upper and lower members of said sets being connected by laterally disposed jaws adapted to engage the side edges of the pen, and said lower set of members provided with means to retain a body of ink.

7; As a new article of manufacture, a fountain attachment for pens comprising a wire of metal bent to form a set of members adapted to seat upon the upper surface of a pen and a set of members adapted to seat against the lower surface of said pen, said sets of members being arranged to clamp against the pen by spring action, the respective upper and lower members of said sets being connected by laterally disposed jaws adapted to engage the side edges of the pen, and said lower set of members provided with means to retain a body of ink, comprising an extended body surface terminating in a tongue directed toward the aws of the two sets of members.

In testimony of which invention, I hereunto set my hand.

FRANK L. FITHIAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington. D. G. 

